Redemption
by Dr. E. Mode
Summary: Priest, Priestess and an unlikely friend discover that the Church that once served as their protector has turned its back on them and has made an unlikely alliance. See inside for full summary. R&R please.
1. Rumors

**Full Summary**: Set post-movie, just a short time after Priest returned to Cathedral City. A question continues to loom as to why Monsignor Orelas was so adamant about denying a secret. Priest returns to his childhood friend, Ella, someone that he has been denied access to for eighteen years. Unintentionally he brings her into the war that has been raging around them and finds that Ella is Black Hat's next intended target. Time ticks against the clock as Black Hat works to establish his new world power, and to exterminate the sinful human race.

**Notes**: I decided to start writing this on a whim, since seeing the movie for the first time last weekend … All canon characters and basic plot do NOT belong to me. R&R. Thanks.

**Priest**

"**Redemption"**

**I: Rumors**

I heard whispers through the trees, and between the euphemisms that people preferred to use rather than the real words that threatened to roll off their tongues. The town was full of rumors. Everyone seemed on edge, as if anticipating a storm that was about to break any moment. The thunder clouds were rolling fast and no one could outrun the rain that was sure to wash away our sins … the only question was whether we were going to be washed away with the floods.

_"Did you hear?"_

_"Vampires"_

_"A priest …"_

_"His niece -"_

_"I heard daughter."_

_"A boy with him."_

_"Vampires destroyed Jericho."_

_"... to the city …"_

_"Was it destroyed?"_

My ears were on full alert as I passed the whisperers on the street. To them I was nothing more than a nameless face that meandered through the towns, sometimes begging for money, sometimes begging for food, sometimes begging for a refuge from the place I called home. To them I was just a blind girl, staying with a man that could not keep a job, and who was violent …but no, I was a smart girl. His greed and anger was enough to keep me hidden from those that would prefer me dead.

_"... passing through …"_

_"They need supplies."_

_"They're headed back from the city …"_

_"There's two of them."_

Without another word, I began running, walking cane collapsed and tucked beneath my coat. As I ran I grabbed food, medical supplies, cloths … faster than anyone could see … by the time they realized the items were missing, I would be long gone … and this time, hopefully, for good. When I reached the outpost, it was empty. Nate must have gone out; the bike wasn't next to the house. He wasn't dumb enough to drink and ride his motorcycle; his brother's death was a testament to that.

With a heavy sigh, I took out my walking cane and entered the small, two bedroom single level house. The only space underneath the house was for hiding if and when the vampires ever came … or worse, the Clergy. The house was a mess, I could tell by all the bottles my feet were kicking, and the dust that tickled my nose, but they were coming … they had to come. How long had it been? Fifteen years? No … eighteen long years … we were childhood friends, bonded by a common trait …

I dismissed the sinful thoughts from my head as I began making stew, throwing all the vegetables I had swiped through the marketplace. I pulled out a packet of meat that had been place precariously on the edge of the butcher's stand, and hacked it into tiny pieces, being careful not to clip my own fingers. As the stew began to simmer, I collapsed in a chair, taking in what my life had become.

As much as he was mean to me, Nate loved me and if I ever left or if anyone ever tried to take me from him, they would have more than just an angry drunk on their hands. The clock on the wall ticked, moving the hands closer and closer to the storm that was coming … whether it was Nate's fury or the metal taste of war that was tangible only to those that had the power to feel it, I was not sure. In the distance the sound of motorcycles filled my ears, and I knew it could not be Nate because no one else came to our house … ever. His paranoia, and fear of my leaving him constricted him to the point that he had convinced himself that keeping me locked up as a pet was the only way to live … my one trip a week to the market was all I was afforded. Even then I sometimes felt his burning gaze on the back of my head.

The knock on the door was swift and urgent. I left the cane where it rested, on the side of the stove. Moving gingerly, hoping that it was my long lost friend, but nervous that it was someone that had come to betray me, I leaned against the door and whispered, "The beginning of eternity, the end of time and space; the beginning of every end, and the end of every place … what am I?"

As the pause between my words lengthened, I could feel my breath increase exponentially, and my head turned to the knives that were too far out of reach. The only option would be to meet my assailants head on, and hope for the best … though fighting in a dress was cumbersome.

"E …" the deep, hoarse voice whispered back, and as my lungs expelled all the air thirty-seconds of time could hold, I felt relief wash over me. Slowly, I opened the door, the sun was brilliantly orange as it reached the point where it was about to dip below the horizon. I didn't raise my head as he stood there, tall, battered, his heart beating tirelessly as it worked to pump enough blood to his damaged organs. I could hear the leaks in his veins and arteries, and a sickening feeling filled my gut.

"You are injured," was all I said as I stepped back to let my visitors arrive. As the other one passed I tilted my head in curiosity. She was certainly many inches taller than me, with an air of confidence that followed her from the world that hated her and into my humble home. I closed the door and turned to face them. "My home is your home, what do you need?"


	2. Repair

**Notes:** I decided to start writing this on a whim, since seeing the movie for the first time last weekend … All canon characters and basic premise of the movie do NOT belong to me. Special thanks to CrystalTears for reviewing!

**II: Repair**

"Who are you?" her voice asked me in a flat tone, doubt filling the spaces between her words. I did not answer, instead turned to my friend. For a moment our eyes met, but I dropped them, because even after eighteen years of separation, there was nothing more that he could see in them.

"She is an old friend …" his voice was pained, and I heard his hand clutch his left shoulder. "She is someone to trust … we have a common enemy."

"The vampires?" her brow was raised, it was evident even in her tone. It was easy to read the girl, she was not good at hiding her emotions.

"No," I interjected, and turned, my eyes meeting hers. I heard her gasp, but decided to ignore it. My entire life was built around adjusting to people's reactions without my sunglasses on. "The Clergy." I said bluntly, and retrieved the medical supplies I had commandeered. "Come, you need healing and stitches … that is a very bad cut."

"But how … you can see it? … but you're -"

"Blind, yes," I cut her off sharply, and I felt his hand rest on my arm and my emotions returned to a normal level. "I am one of you, but gifted in ways that the Clergy could not understand … so they shunned me. The two of us" - I motion to my friend and me - "were recruited together, but when they found out that I had no sight, they kicked me out of the gates of the city and slammed them in my face! Little do they know, I can see the world!" I yelled and I felt the hand again.

"Ella …" his voice was softer, but years of being chiseled into the Church's servant made him this hard, statuesque shell of a man that I knew when we were younger. "It's not her fault … don't release your anger on someone that does not deserve it."

I turned to the girl. "You are a priestess, I can tell by the way you move. You are stealthy and fast … I apologize, and should have shown more respect." I offered a curt bow and then retreated to my bedroom.

A soft knock came only minutes later, followed by the door closing. His weight brought the side of the poorly made bed that Nate and I shared down. His breathing was heavy. Eighteen years since we had last seen each other and it came down to this. I turned to face him, my hand resting on the spot where the blood was slowly oozing from.

"A knife?" I asked softly. He nodded. "I could have helped … you should have gotten me … is it true then?" I began ripping linens. I poured water into a metal basin that rested patiently on a table in the corner of the small room. He knew I was referring to Shannon, someone that I had learned to love and resent at the same time. As an electric wave of emotion passed through me, my head turned towards the door. "That's why you keep the Priestess at a distance isn't it?"

"Yes …" he said as I sat next to him, slowly removing his garments. I could smell the stench of vampires and blood. It made me want to throw up, but I held it in. He noticed my wrinkled nose, and a soft, unexpected chuckle escaped his lips. My eyes darted up to his. "I forgot that you are so gifted … Shannon did love you like a sister … despite your differences …"

"Well … our differences were quite vast," I said softly, "We -" His icy hand snapped around my wrist, my fingers still clutching a rag mere centimeters from his skin. A feeling of dread filled me because this was not what I had expected. His breathing increased, and his anger intensified with the tension in his grip.

"Who did this to you?" his gravely voice muttered menacingly in my ear. It was only then that I noticed the line of bruises down my shoulder blades and on my collarbone. I had lived so long with them, they had become emblazoned in my skin. I hastened to pull the collar of my dress up further, but his strength was greater and he prevented me from covering the lie I would have rather kept from him. "I said who did this to you?"

"I am fine -"

"This is not fine," he threw my hand back at me with enough force to knock me to the ground. I stared up at him, wild with concern and fear. His heart rate increased and I could feel the heat coming off his skin. For a minute we just stared at each other, Priestess' footsteps echoing in the other room as she paced. "You are strong enough to fight … why let this happen? Who is doing this?"

I didn't respond, instead sat next to my good friend, shoulders slumped, a posture of defeat. There was only one person in the world that I would drop my guard in front of, and he was sitting a foot from me. Turning towards him, I finished removing his upper garments and began dressing the wound. It was deep and slowly becoming infected. The only sounds were his wincing as I applied alcohol, herbs, and laced a needle through his flesh. When the wound was taken care of, I slowly inched my fingers to his face, feeling where the blood was coming from. The Great Vision I was blessed with was never meant for every day use, rather to see and hone in on vampires … it became such when I was rejected and thrown into the streets.

"You had Owen …" his voice broke through the cloth that was covering his eyes and lips. I let the cloth fall to my lap where it stained my white apron with bloody water. My hand rested on the mark that I knew all priests and priestesses bore on their foreheads. My thumb traced it, stopping at the tip of his nose where I knew the mark just dissipated into his skin.

"But I did not want Owen," I said abruptly and got up, taking the bloody bandages and putting them in my apron. Leaving the room, I gently closed the door behind me, only to find the Priestess standing just inches from my face. "He is sewn together, and his wounds are healing … but he has lost a lot of blood. Come, I have food for you to eat … you must rest if you are to win whatever war is coming our way …" Pushing past her, I threw the soiled linens into the wood burning stove, lit a match and watched my sinful thoughts burn in the blaze.


	3. A prisoner

**Notes:** I decided to start writing this on a whim, since seeing the movie for the first time in the beginning of October … All canon characters and basic premise of the movie do NOT belong to me. Special thanks to those who have reviewed!

**III: A prisoner**

"How did you know Priest?" she eventually asked in a curious tone as she ate the stew. It was obvious that it had been days since she had had a proper meal.

"We lived in the same town … we were best friends since we were young …" I smiled softly, and filled her glass with more water. I turned my head to the bedroom, my friend was asleep and breathing heavily. "I knew him before they changed him … And now look at him, look at yourself … just skeletons of what you used to be or what you could be … they abandoned you at _your_ greatest hour of need. Used when needed, dismissed when not …" A comfortable silence settled between us before her inarticulate words punctured through my thoughts.

"Wh … what does it look like … th-through your eyes?" her curiosity seeped through. A wry smile tugged at my mouth. It was a question that most were afraid to ask.

"Mostly darkened shapes … my other senses are heightened due to my lack of sight, but I was gifted with The Great Vision. I can see shapes, and sometimes colors … most of the time I see an aura around those that are gifted and special, such as yourself, and a dark cloud looms over my enemies … specifically the vampires. I can see more than what I am able to describe in words … I can see that you have a strong heart that is not as whittled down as the other priests …"

She sighed, and seemed to hastily change the subject: "Does someone else live here?" she asked curiously, deflecting the subject from herself.

I shrugged. "My husband … Nate …" I said softly, kicking a stray bottle to the side.

"He drinks?" I didn't answer, but let my hands innately move to my collarbone marred with bruises. "A-And … hits you?"

"He does what he was raised to do …" I replied defensively. "Nate is the only reason I am alive … because he keeps me locked in this shack every day and keeps me a secret. Of all the things in the world, he fears losing me above everything … and because of his secrecy the Clergy has not found me."

"Why would they want to find you?" Priestess frowned.

"To kill me … I am in essence a rogue, a trained Priestess without the mark … they will shoot me upon site," I said bluntly. "But they will do the same to you now that you have broken your vows …" I stood and looked out the front window, the sun was just about set and the clock on the wall told me that Nate would be home soon. "I was not made to be a prisoner. I was meant to fight and go to battle. I cannot stay here any longer. Nate has protected me, but only because of his fierce jealousy. That emotion alone is not enough to stop the war that is coming to our doorstep … where are you headed after this?"

Priestess dropped her spoon gently into the bowl of food and looked up at me. My gaze rested somewhere over her left shoulder. She seemed worn and tired. In reality she needed to be sleeping as well. For a moment I thought that she had decided to leave me alone with my thoughts, but her words broke through the barrier of silence that separated us.

"We are meeting with other priests. There is an army of vampires out there that we must destroy. Sola Mira was just the start, there are hundreds if not thousands more … their queen was not with them when we destroyed the train … and I fear there is another rogue out there."

"A rogue … priest?"

"Once a priest … now a rogue vampire that can walk in the daylight. He used to be one of us, and now he is an enemy to all things good in the name of God," Priestess bowed her head a moment but brought it up.

"I want to go with you -" The sound of a motorcycle echoed in the distance and it cut me off. I knew it was Nate's, the backfiring every few feet gave it away. "Nate is returning early, I need to wake him …"

I opened the door where he slept so peacefully, his garments draped over the end of the bed, the wound healing nicely. I lit a candle on the dresser and bent down, kneeling next to the bed. For a moment, my eyes could only focus on the hardened body the Priesthood sculpted out of my friend. Even as his chest rose and fell, his body remained perfect. My hand rested softly on his cheek as I slowly coaxed him awake. Inexplicable tears began to fall as I leaned my forehead against his gently kissed the side of his head.

"Ella …" he whispered, removing my hand and sitting upright. Still kneeling, I rested my head on his lap as the tears continued to come. He sighed and his hand rested on my dark brown hair, not in an affectionate way, almost as if this was the only place for his hand to go … and he was certainly doing it begrudgingly. I refused to move even after I heard Nate storm through the front door, not drunk, but not completely sober either … mostly, he was drunk on rage. His screams at Priestess were enough to let me know that whatever he was about to see in his own bedroom would send him into a fury of anger. My friend asked: "Who is here?"

"What the hell is this?" Nate bellowed as he kicked down the door, the flimsy wood swinging effortlessly under his blow, his shaggy brown hair falling around his shoulders. There was a faint smell of alcohol and dust on his body. I refused to move, even after Priestess arrived in the doorway, staring in disbelief at us. I felt like a traitor and a sinner, but at the same time … I felt good. "Ella get the hell off that floor - you're going to pay buddy for taking my _wife_ -"

"Ella?" his bright blue eyes looked down at me and to Nate. I did not answer and silence was taken as affirmation. He lifted my head and arms, standing from the bed. At his full height, he stood at least two inches taller than Nate, and was certainly more muscular. She did not know I was watching her, but I noticed Priestess' eyes rake across my friend's exposed body and a blush filled her cheeks. A silent battle between us began without her even knowing. "I am just a friend … passing through. Whatever you perceive here, it is not true …" His boots stopped inching closer to Nate. A wrinkle filled his brow as an unexpected question poured from his mouth: "Are you the one that gave her the bruises?"

"How dare you -"

"No, how dare you," he caught Nate's right hook in his fist and brought Nate to his knees. A gasp escaped my lips as I felt the vibrations on the floor when Nate's body collapsed on the ground. I scrambled towards Nate, but my friend's piercing blue eyes held me at bay. "You will leave here … tonight … with us …" Turning he addressed Nate. "She was once a Priestess, cast out by the Clergy … she wields more power than you can even imagine … do not follow us, do not contact anyone. This will be the last time you ever lay a finger on your wife …" He tossed Nate back into the hallway and turned to me. "You lied … why didn't you tell me?" He paused. "… you said there was only room for one person in your life. Owen should have been it."

Spinning on his heel, he grabbed his garments and began dressing on his way out the door. My eyes locked with Priestess but tears blurred my vision and I only could assume that she held the same disappointed look that he did. Standing, I began pulling the clothes that I was wearing the day the Clergy exiled me. After changing, I knelt next to Nate who was riding a fine line between consciousness and unconsciousness. One more glance and I left him lying on the ground as I walked out into the cool night.

The desolate wasteland outside of the cities was starting to chill. I stepped into freedom, my black boots crushing dried sod and clods of dirt … it was not what I thought freedom would feel when I finally dressed like the fighter I was designed to be. I looked like Priestess, black pants, leather guards around my hands, hooded cape … but I did not bear the mark that my companions were forced to carry for the rest of their lives. I had on my person a hunting knife, my cane, a few canteens of water, medical supplies and a linked chain. Standing before the two I turned my gaze to the dark house, my hand still running along my bruised collarbone.

"He had no right to touch you," my friend said solemnly. "He deserved what he got."

"And I am supposed to leave him here to be hunted like a dog?" I raised an eyebrow and slipped a pair of sunglasses over my deep blue irises, despite the dark night sky.

"They have no reason to hunt him. He'll be fine," Priestess said with confidence, and I scoffed a laugh. Her words hitched in her throat as she fought to find a retort, but his hand went up to silence us. "I can't hold her on my bike …"

"I suppose it leaves me no choice …" he said with disappointment dripping from his words. I fought back the hurt and strapped the canteens to the side of the bike and mounted, keeping my hands secured to the back. Too many lines had already been crossed, I would not seal my damnation by purposefully bringing our bodies even closer. But as the motorcycle roared to life and we began speeding to an unknown destination, I could not help by lean forward, keeping my face from the wind, and resting my cheek against his shoulder. Even as the rushing air whipped my face, I could still smell his scent through the clothes. It was like breathing new, pure oxygen.

Sleep grasped my body and mind, and before I knew it, my arms were clasped around my friend's hardened stomach, and my eyes were closed as we headed into the dark abyss


	4. The fight

**Notes:** I decided to start writing this on a whim, since seeing the movie for the first time in the beginning of October … All canon characters and basic premise of the movie do NOT belong to me. Please keep reviewing!

**IV: The Fight**

_In my dreams I saw a sky filled with darkened clouds. I was in my childhood home, the town that I was raised in. We were so young … myself only seventeen and he, nineteen years of age, barely old enough to understand that the balance of the world rested on our soldiers. His skin was darker then, not as translucent, and hair just a shade lighter from being in the sun so many hours of the day. He was muscular then, but not as he was now … only the rigorous training by the Clergy could make a man so tough … His eyes glanced in my direction as we built the walls that would house his family, in the blazing sun._

_I was the oldest of three girls, and they found their comfort with mother, doing the work that I could not will myself to sit still and focus on. From the ground up I built his house with him and his brother Owen who I knew fancied me … but I knew I could not reciprocate the feelings he would have given. Instead I chose to cling to the one that I could not have, even if it meant protecting the woman that carried his child._

_But there was one part of our lives that not even she could sully, and that was our gifts. His developed later in life, closer to his eighteenth birthday, and the Clergy let his talents mature for year before snatching him away, while mine I hid from the world for fear of being taken from my family … from him … At dusk we trained, fought, sparred with knives, swords, wooden planks … anything we found as a weapon. I knew the day that I would finally defeat him, they would come for us …_

_A dark cloud filled my dream and as I felt the icy grip of reality begin to choke me awake from my sleep, my hands reached out to the one that approached, and held a knife to their throat._

Fully awake, I pinned the approaching person to the ground, left knee landing squarely on their chest, the hunting knife in my hand, holding it flush to the skin. As I waited for my Vision to return and adjust from being so suddenly jolted awake, all I heard was heavy breathing. As his face came into view, I immediately scrambled backwards, hands landing on a dirt floor, eyes glancing upwards to find shoddy wooden walls surrounding me.

"We had to stop," was all he said, pulling himself from his supine position. "She needed the rest …"

I turned to see Priestess asleep in the corner on what looked like an old potato sack. As I stood, the past few hours began replaying in my head and I could feel my cheeks fill with blood as the thoughts of even attempting an intimate moment with my friend shamed me. A single hot tear streamed down my face, and I suddenly found it hard to stay in such a small shack. I stepped into the deep night, where nothing stirred.

"What were dreaming of?" he asked from the doorway, a safe distance between us. I had sheathed the knife by now, but the blade against his skin was a subconscious warning that I was very on edge.

"You …" I said softly, conceding the truth. "The day we were taken … the hours we spent training … the, the -" my voice hitched in my throat as the memory of helping him build his house strangled my words, and I crouched down, digging a hole with my index finger. The dry dirt clotted under my nails, despite how short they were. The grittiness felt good, it reminded me that I was alive but that one day I would return to the earth like the dust that I was …

"The what?" a slight inflection in his voice brought back the once curious person I knew.

"It's of no difference …" I shot, my words harsher than necessary. "How much farther to the rendezvous point?"

"Another three hours … Priestess said the others are on their way …"

"And then what?" I continued to look at the ground.

"We find the new hive … and destroy it …"

The sound of his footsteps marching back to the shelter prompted me to stand once more. In the darkness, the auras of those so gifted as the priests glowed much brighter … I could follow the trail his aura left behind as it lingered for at least ten seconds behind his steps. Instead, I turned my head and let the trail dissipate into the night. This was a new chapter, and a new beginning … I held on to an empty hope for far too long, it was time to focus on what I was trained to do. I unfolded the walking cane, snapping the nimble titanium pieces into place. It was flexible but strong, such as myself, and despite it accentuating my 'disability', I found it a comfort to have.

Purposefully not straining my Vision, I let my sight dull and my other senses wake up to their full extent and allowed the cane to be my guide.

One step … two steps … three … the cane kept me moving forward, towards the shelter, but the slightest sound of a breath stopped my progression. The hairs on my neck stood on end as I felt two eyes boring into the back of my head. As we were trained by the Clergy, I closed my eyes - despite already not being able to see - and prayed. Spinning, I used the cane as a weapon, but it was easily caught, and I felt a tug forwards, immediately coupled with a sharp blow to my chest, sending me backwards. I waited on the ground, still not sure of who I was facing, but I would not use my Vision … the other senses were not as strong as they were after the Priesthood training, and I needed to hone them.

It sounded like butterflies, a whisper of a movement coming towards me, but I caught his scent and I was at least relieved to know I was not battling a stranger, rather my friend. I waited for him to get closer, time slowed to the point where I could literally feel gravity pulling him towards me. As his feet descended upon my body, I rolled away, his boots landing on the dehydrated ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air, and I quickly kicked his legs out from under him. My hands landed on his chest, but I was thrown, flung into the air, and for a moment I smiled because it felt like flying … as my rate of descent towards the earth increased, I extended my feet, landing quickly, but not quickly enough to dodge a kick that sent me flying on my shoulder, skidding across the ground. The sting of torn flesh seared my shoulder, and a suppressed anger, one that not even my friend knew I had built up inside of me, erupted into a fury of hand to hand combat.

His breathing increased steadily as we sparred, every so often thinking one of us had the upper hand, only to be pushed off balance. More bruises than I had endured at one time began lining my forearms, thighs, back … my blows were effective, but missing just an additional ounce of power that I was never able to conjure. Was that why I was not accepted into the Priesthood?

The thought stunned me, and I was barely able to dodge a formidable blow to the head. Turning towards my friend, a look of confusion and realization filled my face, one that stopped him in his tracks. My Vision was still turned off, but I could hear his feet slowly sliding forward. There was a hesitancy in his step. Was it because every time I fought someone, I thought of the times when we were young and we sparred, sometimes barely clothed. Was it his fault that I was not able to fight to my fullest extent? Because every time I battled, my mind insisted on reverting to the memories of us tearing each other apart, but with a smile on each other's faces, our sweat, blood, and bodies mixed in a sensual way that only I felt appealing? A bead of sweat fell to my eye, and as I slowly brushed it away, my other hand gripped the metal chain that was wrapped around my belt. Without hesitation I sent it flying around my friend, binding his arms, and bringing him to the ground.

I leaned on him, my knee square in the middle of his chest, his breathing heavy. Concentrating a moment, I brought back my Vision and looked my friend in the eye. He was stunned beyond words, as was I … Sitting back on my heels, I sat him up, unwrapping the chain … "They'll be sorry they did not accept me into the Priesthood," the words were mere whispers, and then I stood, dropping the chain to the ground, heading back to the shelter.


	5. His name

**Notes:** I decided to start writing this on a whim, since seeing the movie for the first time in the beginning of October … All canon characters and basic premise of the movie do NOT belong to me. Special thanks to those who have reviewed!

**V: His name**

Priestess awoke at the first sign of light and we were on our way to the meeting point. Not a word was said, not even when Priestess asked why there was blood on the ground outside the shack, and why I looked so battered. In the daylight, he seemed to realize just how hard his blows here to my body. We were hardened during training, and our skin became like leather … but the passing years had made my skin soft. I sat straight up as we sped towards some distant city that I had never seen: City Seven.

We all met in an abandoned shack outside of the shadow of the city walls, but just close enough that we felt like the eyes of the Clergy were watching us. There was another city nearby, perhaps ten miles or so … the priests from that sector had broken their vow and met us. There were some from my friend's sector as well as Priestess'. In total there were about twelve of us … not as many as I had expected. But it was something.

"Keep your head down, and do not talk," were the only words he said to me when the bike was finally in park. I knew he took a great risk bringing an unmarked fugitive to this meeting, so I kept to myself on the fringes of the group. They were all the same: shells of their former selves … one was older than my friend, but the rest were younger. Dark circles hung under their eyes, and most of them had ashen skin, from years of sunless days in the cities. But they all seemed determined, and driven by one goal: to defeat whatever evil was out there.

He recounted his last few days to the other priests in short, concise sentences. His words were terse and to the point, never embellishing even the slightest detail. He confirmed Priestess' role in all of this, as well as Lucy and her boyfriend, Hicks'. He confirmed his parentage but did not divulged their location … a curious detail that I decided I would like to know. The whole time their words were low, the meeting in the shade of an abandoned outpost with very few supplies. Despite having to worry about the blood-drinking enemy, there was the clerical one as well … when the topic of conversation rounded on what to do about the Church, all fell silent.

"We have broken our vows for a reason," her voice was strong. Priestess was not the only female present, there was one other from the Fifth Sector, but Priestess was taller, more dominant. Her figure against the stone walls of the city and against the sun was statuesque, almost Grecian. Even I could not help but listen to her words, captivated by her tenor. "We were touched by the Hand of God … it did not happen through the Church. They are but an impediment, a blockade in our path to redemption from a world of lies and fallacy … we protected them when it was most convenient … why abandon us now? What do they to have to hide?"

Her words rang true, and I quirked an eyebrow in my friend's direction. His movements in response to my own were enough to bring attention to my small figure behind him.

"And who is this?" one priest's voice rang through the tension.

"An ally," my friend replied without hesitation.

"We do not need allies … we need warriors -"

"And I am both," I shot, my hand gripping my walking cane that was originally hidden by my long cape, but as I stepped forward, the gleaming titanium between my fingers became an eyesore.

"No," his hand prevented me from stepping closer. His fingers rested gently on my torso, but the feeling of euphoria lasted only seconds as he pushed me behind him once more. "Trust me … she is both."

Anger boiled inside my gut as I fought the urge to prove my abilities. But the look of disappointment that I knew would follow was enough to keep me placated. And the discussion returned to what the next plan of action was and where we should head next …

By the time the sun got heavy in the sky, and a fire started, the decision was to split up into two groups, some heading east, others heading north. Sola Mira lay to the west, and the cities to the south. We figured the vampires were not going to be headed in either of those directions any time soon.

I sat cross legged, chewing on a piece of bread that had been offered to me, staring beyond the horizon and to a world that I wish I could return to. He crouched next to me without a sound. "You could have let me fight," I said indignantly.

"I could have …"

"I would have won," I faced him, but stared somewhere between his knee and his boot. My sunglasses were still on, because the rest of them were not ready to see the glassy stare my stale blue eyes held. Until I was six they worked, but failed just one year before my powers developed.

"Would you?"

"Of course. I beat you -"

"It was a fluke -"

"Do you wish to fight again, _Priest_?" I yelled and pushed him over, arm ready to strike his face. His face stared back at me horror struck, and then it dawned on me … the word that I swore - even in the darkest nights of the church's training grounds - I would never call him, it slipped … it rolled off my tongue so easily … he was never just a priest to me. He was my best friend. The one person that knew what my life was like before I had been turned into an abandoned warrior. A sound that could only be described as a strangled cough escaped my lips as I pulled myself off the ground. I was ashamed and disgusted with myself ... I stood and faced the horizon again, only this time the sun was quite much heavier, like a golden yolk.

"You changed, Ella," he stood next to me, mere inches, his voice soft. I turned off my Vision; it made talking to him easier if I didn't have to see his face. Taking out my cane, I moved it around in front of me and to the side until I hit his shoes. I turned.

"So did you, Peter," I replied, and headed back towards Priestess, who would keep me protected from the others that wished to call me an enemy.


	6. Nothing left

**Notes:** I decided to start writing this on a whim, since seeing the movie for the first time in the beginning of October … All canon characters and basic premise of the movie do NOT belong to me. Special thanks to those who have reviewed!

**VI: Nothing left**

"You need to clean that," she said as her deep brown eyes rested on my shoulder wound. I glanced at the scabbed skin, covered in grit and grime. I ignored the comment and instead huddled next to the fire, the light licking my face, the only skin I left exposed to the cooling night. "Why was there blood on the ground?" she pushed again for the answers.

"We sparred," I said softly.

"That violently?" she asked incredulously, disbelief was clearly in her tone.

"It's how we used to fight when we were younger … before … before all this," I said with wide eyes, and then added under my breath, "whatever _this_ is …"

"You need to be healed and rested if you're going to help us," she said cautiously. Her tone hinted that she was approaching an indelible line that separated us yet also bound us together. "Do you need to dress any of your wounds?"

"Just my shoulder," I conceded softly. My fingers gingerly touched the inflamed skin around the open wound, and it stung. My wincing was enough to prompt Priestess to retrieve the medical supplies that we had stored from my house. I followed her to the shack that looked as if a strong wind would knock it to the ground. I let the cape fall first, and then painstakingly pulled my arms out of the constricting leather top that all Priestesses wore. I shivered in the pale moonlight that was streaming through the window, and my head turned abruptly as a priest kicked the side of the shelter. Clutching my garments to my exposed chest that was covered by nothing more than a beige wrap that wound around my upper torso, I urged Priestess to work as quickly as possible. In essence I was getting a taste of my own medicine, as it had only been a day since I had poured the alcohol on my friend's wounds.

"This is really deep," she said as she poured alcohol over the destroyed flesh. It couldn't even be stitched the skin was torn so far open. It looked like something had taken a bite of my arm and ripped. "Which of these bruises was from Nate and from Priest?"

I let a cynical chuckle escape from my lips. "I don't know anymore …" She bandaged the wound as best she could and helped me back into my top.

He didn't even knock before walking into the small four-walled shelter. I jumped at his sudden and silent presence, knocking the rubbing alcohol to the ground, and tearing open the wound that was just starting to fix itself. Blood flowed down my arm through the gaps between the bandage and my skin, pooling in the crook of my elbow. His eyes met mine and did not look away.

"Excuse us, please," he said under his breath. Priestess put the bandages on the ground and left. For a moment we stared, unsure of what the next move should or would be. "This is why you I didn't let you fight the other priests …"

"Why? Because I would have ended up worse off?" I turned, partially in anger, partially because I was ashamed to have him see someone bandaging the wound that he had inflicted. As I pulled the cape over my shoulder, his cold hand stopped it. Kneeling next to me, his icy fingers rested on the shoulder wound, I could feel his touch through the thick top garment.

"They would have tried to kill you," he stared straight into my face. He was so close I could actually see the blue in his eyes. "You have no idea the power that you wield," his thumb ran small circles on the wound, fresh blood streaming down the black polyester material and onto his skin. He seemed to not care. "Ella you cannot die … again. Besides Lucy, you are all I have left of my life … Do you really think you are ready for this?"

Again? I did not have the strength to inquire what he meant by that bizarre word. Frowning, I rested my hand on his cheek. He jerked back but I held him in place. "What are you really afraid of? Losing me, or losing another thing that reminds you of her?" I asked solemnly. He remained silent. I turned off my Vision again, and let the world go dark. "I'm not afraid of dying … what else do I have left to live for? My family was murdered while we were training … do you know how little Monica was killed? They pulled each of her limbs off, one by one … and then they drained her dry."

"How do you know this?"

"Because that's what I came back to! While you went on to the Priesthood, I went home. Not only was I an outcast, I returned to a yard that was littered with bodies! My family, literally torn apart by the predators I was training to kill … every day I have wondered whether I should have exposed myself sooner, gone to the Clergy and trained so that when the vampires had come, I would have been there … But no …." I inched closer to him, my hand groping blindly into the darkness. His fingers wrapped around mine and brought them down. A tear fell. "No, I stayed … with _you_ … I helped _you_ build your house …"

"Why?" his words dumbfounded me. It was as if all common knowledge had been knocked from his head from the hundreds of fights he had fought. Was he that blind or that narcissistic that he wanted me to beg him to love me?

"Why the hell do you _think_?" I shot and left him, sitting in the dirt.


	7. Red Rock Reservation

**Notes:** I decided to start writing this on a whim, since seeing the movie for the first time last weekend … All canon characters and basic plot do NOT belong to me. R&R. Thanks.

So I lost muse for this, mostly because I'm just so torn by how to end this. I'm deciding whether Ella/Priest would be a good ending or not … I don't know, I'm torn! Suggestions anyone? Votes? Haha.

**VII: Red Rock reservation**

We broke into teams of six. We went East, the other half went North, past Nightshade. We decided to rendezvous at outpost nine in five days. As we sped towards the next closest reservation I sat in complete silence, still trying to figure out whether I was angry or hurt. We rode on, the night descending upon us. Traveling in the dead of night was not our first choice, but it felt safer than just waiting for an enemy to ambush us.

The trip to the reservation did not take as long as predicted and as we rode to the edge of the confines, the stone structure looking down at us, daylight was still a good hour away. A distant scream, from an animal that should never have been brought forth, confirmed our suspicions as to whether or not the prison was still occupied. I slid off the bike as my friend idled for an extra second. His head turned in disbelief as I walked closer towards the gates. One by one the engines shut off; Priestess was the first to stand by my side.

"Are you ready?" she asked softly.

"We'll see won't we?" a masochistic smile crept to my face and I followed her through the heavy wooden double doors. We stood on the threshold, with my friend and the other priests stepping several feet ahead of us. It came like a whisper, a sound that only someone trained to listen to the very vibrations of the earth could hear. My hand grabbed Priestess' cape and pulled her backwards as a knife came sailing out of the dark, pinning itself in the wood of the door. All eyes turned to us and the source of the weapon. "I'm ready …"

"Thank you," she let out a huge sigh, but the moment of silence only lasted a few seconds. Familiars and vampires alike charged us, and we had held open the doors for them …

As all five of them chanted in Latin, I secretly said the prayers that the Church would not deem me worthy to say out loud. With knives ready, we welcomed the assault. I came to the conclusion that it was rage that I was feeling, as I ran head on at a vampire, catching it in a headlock and falling to the ground, my knife slashing across its throat. I had jumped onto its back, my legs digging into the side of its deformed body. As I stood, watching the life ebb from its twitching claws, a satisfied grin spread across my face. This was what it felt like to be the Hand of God. My gloating only landed me on my back as a clawed hand came out of nowhere.

Skidding across the ground, I noticed the gleam of metal sailing through the air. Metal crosses, with blades extending from the intersection of the two perpendicular lines, caught the vampire's shoulder and side, slicing off its arm and leg, and causing it to fall backwards. Standing on my own two feet, I released the chain from my belt, choking the beast as my friend sailed out of the darkness, slicing down the middle of its belly. I nodded to him, and then turned to face the next monster that wished to die, but something held me back: his hand, gripping fiercely onto my own.

I looked down and then up to his face. He spoke urgently and softly. "I will not have the strength to kill you myself if you get bitten … and I will fight anyone else to the death that tries to stop me from saving you … do not leave me." An understanding passed between us as I ran with him, our hands interlocked, towards the fray. And for forty-five minutes, the six of us exterminated the Red Rock reservation. Gray flesh and blood decorated the reservation, and in the end only two familiars remained, pinned to the ground by my friend and by Priestess' boots.

"We found the train … and it was destroyed," he leaned in closer to the familiar, despite its wretched stench, "the question no longer is whether there is an army … I want to know _where_ the new hive is … and _why_ breed a new army …" The familiar just stared awkwardly back at my friend, he removed a knife from his person and sent it clear through the familiar's thigh. The howl was enough to make the dead turn over. He turned his blue eyes to the other familiar, but as it struggled under Priestess' boot, its wounds overcame it and its breath ceased. "It looks like you are the only one left to torture."

I inched forward, my sunglasses off. I had never been so close to a familiar before … it was unsettling how humanoid they truly were. Its head turned towards me, curiously. "Y-you're blind …" it said to me and I drew my knife. My friend's hand rested on my shoulder, pushing me back.

"Make sure she doesn't kill it … yet," he instructed the nearest priest who pulled me up onto my feet. His hands were thick and strong. In another life he would have made a solid factory worker, hauling dense metal beams or heavy loads. His body was muscular but thicker than anyone else present. I still doubted whether he could outfight my friend.

"Why are you not marked Priestess?" it taunted with a smile and it took two priests to hold me back as I charged the creature, my knife landing just an inch from its skull. "Know that you are hunted, Un-Marked One." Its voice faltered for a moment and blood dibbled from the corner of its mouth.

"What are you talking about?" this time my friend was the one who needed to be held back. He pulled the knife from the familiar's thigh and slit across its throat, leaving a thin trail of blood.

"There have been rumors for years of a blind Priestess with sight … he is looking for her … and he will turn her -"

"Never!" he yelled and slashed across the familiar's throat, leaking blood everywhere. For a moment the only sound was my friend's heavy breathing, but he eventually stood and I met his worn, tired eyes. Dawn broke and the sun emerged, a dusty pale rose color. "We need to find that hive …" He walked away, closer to the gates.

The five of us, including Priestess, just stared at each other. The other men were just as confused as I was … who was this mysterious 'he' the familiar alluded to? Was it the rogue that Priestess had mentioned before? They had heard of me? My emotions shifted from confusion to fear … it was a lie … they were the servants to the cancer of the Earth, but familiars were clever enough to get inside one's head. He knew I was a short fuse the moment I pulled my knife … Out of frustration, I kicked the familiar's already severed head clear off its body and listened as it landed far off the distance.

"There is something larger at work here …" the priest that was holding me back said. I slipped my glasses on and turned to him. "I remember you … during training …" His head was shaved, but dark stubble grew, even filling in his widow's peak. He had soft brown eyes that were surprisingly emotional and easy to get lost in. His name did not come to me, mostly because during those days, all I could think of was surviving and making it out alive with my friend. "Eric."

"Eric …" I echoed his name and a sea of thoughts flooded my mind as I remembered sparring, and hand to hand combat sessions. I had never beaten him in a fight before. Even when I was kicked out of the city gates, I had left without ever winning a battle against him. A frown shadowed my face as I looked to the rising sun, "Why did you not vouch for me at the initial meeting?"

"Because …" he trailed off. "Because they told us you had died."

"What?" the very breath from my lungs was swept away by this fallacy and lies. Was that the reason for the vampire attack on my family? To ensure that I was dealt with properly? To ensure that I never stepped foot in that godforsaken city ever again? But then all this time … those that I had trained so diligently with, they were fed a lie, but my friend had never faltered. And that's why he had said 'again' … I had already died once in his mind. I staggered away from the group ...

"Did they hold a funeral service for me when I left?" I stood by his side, away from the crowd that was picking up weapons that had been dropped.

"Yes, but I later learned it was another girl's body they had cremated," he responded in a hoarse voice. "I overheard the Clergy speaking one day … I heard them confess their lies to each other and convince themselves that it was for the better … their lies were transparent, but still, only a few saw through them."

"Why doesn't Priestess recognize me?"

"Because … she arrived the day after your funeral," he looked down in a mournful way, almost as if he regretted saying those words. The unwanted insinuation was there: she was my replacement. He continued to talk, gaze somewhere off in the distance: "I knew the day that I finally left those walls, I would return to your door … the very place you were raised." He looked down at me. "Why did you rebuild on the same land that your family was killed on?"

"Because right outside the door, I knew, was the very land that we had played on when we were children … and I had hoped that it would be a place you would eventually return to, though not as a fugitive," I paused and turned as the others approached. "Who is this man that wants to kill me?"

He frowned. "We call him Black Hat … but you would know him as Oren."


	8. Taken

**Notes:** I decided to start writing this on a whim, since seeing the movie for the first time last weekend … All canon characters and basic plot do NOT belong to me. R&R. Thanks.

I got over a major muse block, and I have a little clearer of an idea of how this story will end. But it's still not definite … it may turn into one of those multi-ending stories! Who knows!

**VIII: Taken**

As he said Oren's name, my eyes went wide and memories that I had suppressed came back to me. For a moment I was paralyzed with fear. He had tortured me, strangled my will to live during those years of training. He had been a plague in my life that I never wished to see again. The week before I had been thrown out, he had done an unspeakable act against me and against God. It was one that I refused to tell _anyone_, and had buried so deep inside of myself that I had almost forgotten the heinous crime had been committed. It did not surprise me that he had turned into one of them. Deep in my heart, I always questioned whether his fight was for God or for glory and eternal fame.

"Ella?" his voice cut through my reverie, and I looked up with as neutral an expression as I could muster.

"He trained with us …" was all I said.

"Yes, and I let him fall when we infiltrated Sola Mira before it was liquidated," he responded and then mounted his bike, turning it on.

For thirty hours we traveled, heading towards the mountains, the few that remained after the war, expecting to find a new hive in the hollowed out side of the earth. As I leaned my head on his back, between his shoulder blades, my mind wandered in so many directions it was hard to keep track of what had really happened and what I fantasized would happen. He had willingly held my hand … but he would have done that when we were younger. He refused to let me out of his sight … again, not out of the ordinary. He had lost his mind when the familiar mentioned me turning … I would expect him to lose his temper if it had mentioned turning any of the other priests. It was too easy to read into any of these scenarios and see a future that I only hoped was there.

We stopped at the base of two mountains. They looked like they had been removed from some other faraway land, and magically transported to our desolate wasteland. They were dark, but random green patches dotted the sides of the ashen sides. Clouds rested towards the middle of the two mountains, sitting like a ring on a finger. The tops of the mountains looked down at us with an ominous shadow. There was sun towards the top, but anything beneath the clouds was completely dark. A very bad feeling ate at my core as my vision darkened, and not because I wished it to … the mountain was where we needed to head, but it held a very dark secret that I wasn't sure we were all ready to face.

"Those clouds are too dark to be natural," I said out loud. "They are dark, soot-filled … only in the cities have I seen smog clouds so thick."

"We have to go in …" was all he said, and then handed me a book. I frowned as did the others. "I stole it from the armory the night they held your funeral. It has and always will be yours." I took the book, and opened it. Inside were several silver crosses, each placed meticulously in their own hollowed out space, bedded in red satin. My fingers caressed the untouched metal, a shiver running down my spine. I truly felt like a priestess, though still un-marked. His voice cut through my thoughts. "I knew it was yours … only you would write your name in Greek and not Latin." A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

I closed the lid and looked on the back where I had etched my name in Greek symbols. I was never very good at Latin, but Greek made sense to me … Looking up, I smiled, and tucked the thin book into the back of my belt.

"What do you propose, Priest?" Eric asked as we looked up at the sky. There were no footprints, no signs of entry … only a narrow column of rocks that led straight up.

"We'll climb, brother," he replied and walked forward, the shadow of the mountain and clouds covering him in darkness.

I decided to go last since I had never attempted such a feat before. In our training we climbed, but not like this … They had all been to Sola Mira, and by what I had heard through training, the sides were just as steep and slippery. Many times my hands and feet slipped on something the Great Vision was not equipped to detect. I drew a deep breath, taking a moment to compose myself, and continued the ascent. In that sole breath, I gathered many different tastes and smells: vampires for sure, but nothing seemed fresh, everything was stale. The air was stale, even the greenery felt stale. It was as if time was frozen and we were disturbing its slumber.

The entrance to the mountain was enshrouded in mist that hung so thick, the polluted water droplets condensed on my skin and hands. I disliked the feeling of vampire discharge and coal particles resting on me. The idea gave me a chill, and I suddenly felt very inept in the presence of all these fully trained and ordained priests.

"This way," he turned on a flashlight and guided us through the maze. It was narrow, many of them had to hunch over. It just grazed the top of my head. For at least 500 feet, we walked in discomfort until we reached an open room. It was about fifteen feet tall, but the center was solid, not like center structure of Sola Mira. Four more tunnels emptied into the same cavern.

"This doesn't make sense," Priestess said softly, "this isn't a hive … it's like a …"

"A fortress," he finished her sentence. "There isn't a single vampire track anywhere."

"But I smell them," I said softly, my head turned towards one of the tunnels. I inched closer, but his hand held me back. Giving a faint smile, I pressed forward, letting his hand slide off my shoulder. "It's cooler in this tunnel."

"Ella, please come back here," his voiced was pleading, but I ignored it, creeping closer. The air coming from the tunnel was strangely fresh, cooler, and it was not as stagnant. There was a strong smell of vampire, but I could not understand how the air was circulating, the only way was if the tunnel opened up to the other side of the mountain or down below.

The entrance to the tunnel was just my height, but it sloped and got narrower. My first few steps were timid, unsure. He stood at the entrance of the tunnel, his breath was heavy and his heart beat so loudly even I could hear it. I took a few more steps before halting. Something wasn't right … a tremble shook my very core, and before I could turn to get out of the tunnel, a clawed hand grabbed my leg and I was knocked to the ground.

"PETER!" the scream echoed so loudly off the stone walls, I heard a ringing in my ear.

"ELLA! NOOOO!"

But as he dove forward, they held him back; all four of them, and slowly the stones from the ceiling began falling. I was being dragged through the gravel floor by my leg. "PETER!" tears streamed down my face as the dim light from the room got smaller and smaller, and his face became just a shadow. "I love you ..." was the last thing I got to say before being tossed into the air and slung over the creature's back. And then we dove.


End file.
